Camp Day #4... finally too!

Day #4... another 7am start, but today it was for my favorite... a RUN; yet not... a TRAIL run!  I have NEVER trail ran, except for maybe a small of road portion at the Kerrville Tri.  I was slightly nervous because we had already decided 1:4 will fall... who was it going to be Kris, Linda, Herb, or myself?  Nobody wanted to take one for the team!











Once again, we were split up in groups.  Hillary's team consisted of Linda, Kris, Marc, Kate, Susan, & myself.  I started out on Hillary's heels, mimicking every step she took, yet leaving enough room between us that I could see where my feet needed to go.  WOW, this takes focus and concentration, but once I got the hang of it... it was kinda fun!

Well, for the first 2hrs at least.  By then, Linda had stepped up... and took one for the team!  Ouch!  I put my Dr. hat on and cleaned her up really quick, scrubbing some rock pieces out with water.  She wasn't my biggest fan at the time, but she thanks me now... ouch!  And like a true trooper, Linda headed back out with the team to finish up the run.  It was around the 2hr mark that I remember Hillary pointing out the JW Marriott (near our casitas) and then we continued running... AWAY from them!  Aye!  3 1/2hrs later our run was over... and so was camp! ;-(  We DID IT... We SURVIVED Camp!!!

Camp Day 3... finally :-)

 Day #3 started off bright and early... again... at 7am!  The mornings in Tucson were pretty chilly, so the idea of getting in the pool... again... was less than appealing, even to Linda, the human fish.  We made our way down the to pool, and assumed our respective lanes.  Kris, Taryn, & I got to chase each others feet again, if you ask us, we could probably go into pretty deep detail after 3 days :-)  Luckily, this was more of a technique swim and was a pretty short set.  Good thing, because afterwards we saddled up to ride Mt. Lemmon!
We parked our cars and started the ride up the access road towards Mt. Lemmon.  Our group consisted of Hilary, Kris, Linda, Taryn, Kate, & myself... Smashing Girls!!!  This had been the ride we had all been waiting for.  Listed amongst the most epic bike rides in the US, with a 27 mile climb at about 5% grade, this was going to be one for the books!  I knew it was going to be a challenge, I knew it was going to burn... constantly, I knew there was only one way up & no way to get out... so time to pedal... and pedal... and pedal!!!  But what I also knew was that at the top awaited the prize of all prizes, the infamous, the coveted, the most ginormous cookie I had ever seen in pics... and I was going to ride to one!!!  After miles and miles of changing scenery; from rock formations, to cactus, to pine trees, and finally snow, we made it to The Cookie Cabin!!!  We made it!!!

http://www.bicycling.com/ride-maps/featured-rides/desert-classics

               

The decent was #2 on my list of things I looked forward to.  After we threw on a few layers that we had sent up in the SAG, we were ready for our decent.  I tried to take in the scenery, as I had on the way up, but it wasn't as easy.  Especially since Hillary had explained to us on day #1 that on the bike, you look where you need to go... so don't be looking over the cliff! ;-)  I did stop a few times to get some pics, but that rest of the time was flying downhill!!!  I hit 42mph... the fastest I have EVER gone!  

 That night Hillary & Maik were gracious enough to host a dinner at their house, where we met Sam McGlone, a longtime friend & kick ass Ironman champion, like Hillary!  Sam is now in her first year of medical school, so we got along right off the bat :-)  After dinner & a Q&A session with the Pro's, Hillary lead us to the mecca... Smash Warehouse!  The girls, quickly swiped up TONS of smash gear... and we even convinced the men to rock the Smash!  And ROCK it, they did!!!

Tucson Tri Camp- Day #2

I woke up this morning getting mentally prepared by convincing myself that nothing happened yesterday and today was a new day!  Gates Pass with McCain Loop AND 100 x 100 swim!  No sweat... :-o

As we rolled out from the casitas, we all left in groups: the A group, the Gold group, and the #1 group... I was in the Gold group along with Kris, Linda, Jeff, Taryn, and Kate, lead by Coach Doug.  We quickly renamed our group the Golden Girls and headed out.  Immediately, a certain part of my body jumped off the seat... What are you doing here again!?!?!?  I can't remember the last time I had rode my bike two days... in a row!  To my surprise, unlike yesterday's ride, we took a left out of the development and... time to climb!  What???  Don't I get a few miles to warm up my legs?... Oh, this IS our warm up! We headed up towards Gates Pass & at about 6mi hit the outlook to which we would decent on the other side and ride McCain loop. But before I reached the top, we had a pile up! As we were climbing Kris noticed Taryn was still in her big chain, beast!  She later told us she likes to keep it in the big chain as long as possible & use the small chain as a "treat"!  Well, I guess it was dessert time at the top of the climb!  Taryn switched from big chain to little chain mid-climb & dropped her chain! Kris was behind her & was able to clip out and stop, Linda was behind Kris and moved quickly to the left, I came up behind Kris and slammed on my breaks!  The next 3 seconds went like this, in slow motion: WTF?!, Brake!, rear wheel lifted in the air!, stalled out on my front wheel! (which seemed like 1 minute), and slowly tipped to the right!  I did a quick 1 sec. inventory to assess any injuries... I was fine.  Then I looked to the right... hmmm, that could have been a lot worse.  We had been climbing with a cliff to our right and LOTS of cactus! Yikes!  Luckily, I did not become a pin cushion & continued our ride.  Good thing, because the next part of the ride was my fave!  McCain loop was a beautiful 4mile stretch of some rolling hills and a few small climbs, surrounded by gorgeous views!  Now, the hard part, climbing back up the steep 0.5mi hill we had descended to get to the loop.  My legs were spent from day 2 of riding, but there was no way around it... literally!  I breasted up the hill the best I could; sitting, standing, sitting, standing... DONE!  I'm pretty sure I yelled out a dying animal noise when I reached the top & quickly hugged Kris & Linda who also were beaming at their accomplishment!  We even got a shout out from our Coach Doug on how well we all ride together! Blush!!!

The ride back to the casitas was glorious and downhill... until we were turning onto our street! I was riding on Linda's wheel a little to close and swerved to miss some gravel... Oh, hello pavement, fancy meeting you again!  A little less than slow motion: I fell to the left, clipped out quickly, and tucked & rolled, and popped back up onto my feet!  Hanging my head in shame, I picked up my bike & tried to scrape my ego off the pavement, the only thing that got hurt! And to add salt to the open wound, I hear Hillary yelling from the car riding behind us, Are you OK?  Wow, nice, I really just fell in front of Hillary... I'll go hide under a rock now!!!

We made it back to the casita, showered up quickly and got into the caravan to Sunnyside pool where  we were going to tackle Hillary's fave 100 x 100!!!  My longest swim to date had been 4100yd, so to tackle 10,000yd was going to be a huge challenge!  Well, that's what I came to camp for, so let's do this!  We got our workout which included 15 x 100 warmup, 30 x 100 swim, 200 easy kick, 20 x 100 buoy band,  20 x 100 PBB, 12 x 100 swim, 100 cool down!  Kris started out leading the lane for 15 x 100, Hillary had told us to alternate leading our lane, which consisted of the two of us and Taryn.  After the first set I got nervous, it was my turn to lead.  Kris had warned me a while ago about being lane leader and all of the pressure involved in counting laps, yikes! So I knocked out the set of 30 & was feeling great.  Kris asked me if I wanted to keep on leading, um ok?! The next 5500 went by fairly quickly, all things considered.  We were at a public pool, so I was thoroughly entertained by the kids jumping off the high dive, a scuba diver, and other kids fooling around in the shallow end.  Between 6500- 8500, I started to get really cold.  I could feel my lips turning blue, as they usually do whenever I am down too long scuba diving.  Finally, we were done!  Taryn & I decided to celebrate with a jump off the high dive.  I hadn't done it since college, but I was so elated that I threw a 1.5 in pike position off the high dive! WooHoo!  Day #2... in the books!

Tucson Tri Camp- Day 1... Survived!

After a long 12hr+ ride to Tucson, AZ, with a few mishaps along the way (like luggage flying off top of roof!); Coachie, Kris, Linda, Herb, Jeff, & I were all ready for a 4 day Tri camp Smashfest with Grand Coachie, Hillary Biscay!  We had all decided in November that camp was imperative, and hadn't stopped talking about it since. The day had finally come!  We started out with a "shake you travel legs" run Thurs. evening and got to meet the group of 16 athletes and 3 coaches.  The run was a real wake up call for me as far as what to expect for the next 4 days.  My HR was in zone 3 for 5mi and I had more salt on me than a bag of chips!  Hmmm, oh yeah!, I forgot about this little thing called altitude :-)  I'm glad we got a little taste of what it was going to be like, because today, I was prepared.

Day #1- 93.75mi bike including a ~14mi climb up Madera Canyon, the last 4mi being the toughest!
The ride started out great, Kris, Linda, & I were cruising taking turns pulling, just like any old ride back home in SA.  Except this time we were surrounded by beautiful mountains, interesting landscaping, coyotes (yes, we saw them on the side of the road & they howled at us!), and desert.  The ride took us out from our Casitas, where most of us campers are all staying, ~36mi of false flats to the base of Madera Canyon, where all of the fun began.  Right at the start of the climb we got word the Coachie had crashed up ahead.  We all kinda freaked out and pedaled on to catch up with her.  When we got to where she was she yelled at us to keep going, but Dr. Alvarez had to stop and make a quick assessment, mostly for my peace of mind because I know Coachie is tough as nails!  We pedaled on and all of us had tears about to overflow.  I yelled at Kris to stop it, because... We needed to breathe!  Up we go!!!
Hillary was by my side for most the hard climbing!  I took a moment to pick her brain for what I feel is a big weakness of mine, mental toughness!  She gave me some really good advise, and basically laid it out as: "We are all in this together, we are all suffering! Some people are able to internalize the pain or suffering longer than others.  You commit to something and you find a way to get it done." To which my response was, "Like signing up for camp!" :-)  I couldn't help thinking most of the time, the twists and turns in my life that had lead me to where I was... Riding along side of a Pro Triathlete!!!
We finally made it to the top and took in the scenery for a bit before starting the best 14mi of the ride... The decent!  Whhhhheeeee!!!! The one time I dared to take my eyes off the road I saw my odometer: 39mph!  Fastest I've ever gone!

The rest of the ride was just as great as the first half, but finally it was over... the ride, that is... we still had an afternoon swim.  We had about 2.5hrs to rest before hitting the pool.  We ate lunch, rehydrated, rested our legs in recovery boots, and then headed to the pool.  Doug was the coach for our lane, which included Kris, Jeff, Taryn, & Kate.  Linda was leading the fast fish in Hillary's group!  The workout consisted of a 600yd warm up, 3 sets of 16 x 25yd band only & 300yd PBB (pull, buoy, band), and a 200yd kick cool down.  The swim felt great, but by the end my body was starting to remember the torture from earlier in the day.

Tomorrow- Gates Pass Loop ~25mi, followed by 100 x 100 in the pool!!! ... Good night!!! :-)

It takes a village...

Hmmm, so it's been awhile since my blog actually made it to print.  Not to say that I have not been blogging, it has just all stayed in my head :-)  It's funny, one of my earliest realizations in triathlon was why triathletes blog.  Imagine being in a pool, face down staring at a black line for 1- 1.5hrs, three times a week; or pedaling down the road, usually with your closest friends for 7hrs on a Saturday & only being able to talk to them for 15min at a rest stop... My point is you have A LOT of time to yourself & many highly intellectual conversations (or, not) with... Yourself! ;-)
Although the bulk of my training is done alone, none of it could be done without the help from my Iron-Crew: Allen, Iron-Dad! When "we" decided that I was all-in for IMTX, without skipping a beat he said "I will be Iron-Dad!" Not that he already wasn't Iron-Dad, but we both knew it meant stepping in with the girls a lot more while I was training. The love, support & encouragement that I have received has blown my mind! I can't help but to feel extremely lucky, especially because we all know IM training can cause a huge strain on relationships, but I feel it has brought us closer and made us a stronger "team".  He always encourages to stay positive & Chi <3
My girls, Aleina & Ailani!  Thoughts of them have pulled me through many tough training days!  As a Mom, you have to stay on top of things: ballet, TOTS, Gigglebytes days at school; gymnastics & swimming after school; picture day coming up, outfits to wear; birthdays & getting gifts... You get it!  Well, during training I often find myself making lists or organizing tasks in my head and most of them relate to my girls.  And that makes me smile. Sometimes if I'm lucky, it can pull me out of that dark place that the pain is trying to pull me towards. Again, I feel very fortunate to have the support of my girls, even though they may not understand what Mommy is doing right now.  They've rarely said to me, No, don't go do... swim, bike, or run!  I am usually sent off with a huggie/ kissie (and so are my friends :-) ) and encouraged to ride or run FAST!
My Iron-Whiners!  Collectively the Iron-Whiners consist of: Kris, Linda, Shelly, Orissa, Brian, Herbito, Alphanso, and anyone else that has ever trained with us and whined!  And although we rarely hear her whine, our Coachie Dawn is an honorary member!  I couldn't imagine IM training without a single one of them!  I've learned so much from each and everyone of them: basic bike care :-), proper hydration & nutrition, we've brushed up our swim in Master's together at ridiculous times in the morning, we've suffered through cold, rain, wind, and snow (ok, lie. I live in SA!) & have actually encouraged each other to continue!  The friendships I have made along this journey are worth a million times more than the finish line!
Of course my family has been amazing too! My parents and in-laws have been tremendously supportive in encouraging my journey and helping out with the girls!  It is a huge stress relief to know that while I am out riding 100miles or whatever, my girls are spending time with their grandparents and having a wonderful time! I remember time spent with my grandparents as a child and I know they are receiving the same love!
And of course the list goes on: our amazing babysitter, Kelly, whom the girls love! My colleagues for helping out with call or coverage at the hospital. The Rehab staff for being understanding when they can't hear me on the phone because I'm running or biking (I know, not safe & I try NOT to do that!) or just got out of the pool. Etc...
My point is, that although IM is a personal journey... It takes a village! And I am blessed to have an amazing Iron-Village!!! :-)

FUN in the Sun!

After last weekend it finally hit me, exhaustion!  Yes, I am human & Yes, I was expecting it at some point... everyone warns you it will strike usually at the end of Build I.  Mine hit a week later at the end of recovery week. The hills of Vanderpool sucked every last ounce of energy I had left in me.  By Sundays long run I was dragging along, good thing it was a recovery week and all we had to do was 8miles.  My fatigue was confirmed by my heart rate, I was struggling to keep in zone 2 at a lot slower pace than I would normally go.
Monday swim is always a welcomed workout.  Mainly because it's active recovery & that's usually "all" I have to do for that day, but also because it feels great to shake out your muscles from the weekends workouts.

 Tuesday Kris, Shelly, & I rode out to Castroville for a donut.  It's always a nice treat when we can all get off from work a little early and get a ride in.  There was a nasty headwind on the way back, but the day was sunny and beautiful, so it made it less painful.  Regardless of weather conditions, and believe me we've been tested by a few days recently, it's always a privilege to be able to be outside in mid-February... and in short sleeves! :-)
Wednesday I had a great swim, followed by a wonderful trip down memory lane, 6mile track workout. I went to the track at Brandeis HS around 2:30pm, there was only one group of kids with their coach.  I asked if it would be ok if I ran & got the ok.  By the time  finished, half of the high school was on or around the track!  Surprisingly, I was able to get my workout in with too much crowding.  I started my warm up and was quickly drawn back to 1994.  Probably the last time I had ran on a track, senior year of high school.  My workout called for 4x800 with recovery in between.  As I was huffing & puffing, "sprinting" my 800's, the young kids were running in the outside lane, chatting away & laughing keeping up with my "sprint"!  Ahhh, man it was so easy when I was young! :-)
Thursday and Friday were both great workouts, and then came the weekend!  70mile steady ride.  Finally!!! A true "recovery" ride.  We decided to keep it light and keep it FUN!  It was a beautiful sunny day and we had a nice tailwind in many directions!  The ride from TA to Exxon started out cold as usual, but by 5miles out we were all pealing layers!  Luckily, Herb met us at the Exxon to ride to Castroville and back with us, so we through our layers in his car.  The ride to Castroville was flat and fast... it seems that the promise of a donut is like a light at the end of the tunnel!  We quickly grabbed our donut and started on the return trip.  From Exxon to TA, Kris, Alphanso, & I cruised back leaving it all out on the road.  It was a strong finish to a really FUN ride!

Today's run with Kris ranked right up there with yesterdays ride.  Sunny, beautiful weather and a nice conversational zone 2 run= FUN!  Again, up until last week all of our long runs ended with some efforts or we were racing 13.1, so it was nice to be able to enjoy a run, no pressure.
This weekend ended up being a much needed "break" from the last two long rides/ runs we had done & which each of us found "less than fun" at one point or another.  I know training isn't suppose to be FUN all of the time, but it's a nice reset point to come back to every now and then, especially when you hit the exhaustion point.  Now it's time to hit Build 2 with a strong positive attitude and a tank full of FUN!!! :-)

Vanderpool... aka: Recovery Week

After last weeks century ride, followed by a 16mile run, not to mention the weekday workouts that led up to that... I was definitely ready for recovery week.  Although a few weeks ago I put two and two together and realized the infamous Vanderpool ride was going to fall on our recovery week.  That meant we would be riding less, but we would be riding Texas "mountains".  For the past year I had been listening to my Iron-friends talk about "the Vanderpool ride"!  Any ride during which complaints were aired could usually be followed up with... "not worse than Vanderpool!"  I heard all about Shelly's panic attack, Santiago's speed wobble on a decent, and various other stories that contributed to an ulcer in the weeks approaching.
So Saturday came, just like any other day I've dreaded.  Kris & I drove up to Vanderpool together, 1.5hrs from San Antonio.  As we drove up Kris kept me entertained with more Vanderpool horror stories and details about camp coming up in March.  She made it clear, and has allowed me to hold her to her word, that if I can do Vanderpool, I can do camp.  As we neared Vanderpool, we drove up a very steep hill and back down the backside... "this is our first climb."  O.M.G.
We got to the parking lot, which would serve as our transition area for the next 3 out and backs.  When the gang was all there, Dawn explained to the group our game plan.  First out & back: 4miles out, 1mile climb & back.  Second: to Leakey and back.  Third: I have no idea what she said at that point, I just knew it was going to be hard!

Let's ride!  It was the third time riding Zion & I expected nothing but great things from her.  Four miles out, the weather was cold, but sunny, with a slight wind.  Not bad compared to the past few weekends. We were already warned not to go throwing off layers as we climbed because the decent would cool us back down plenty!  Suddenly, I was staring at the wall!  OK, time to climb.  Pedal, pedal, pedal, breathe, breathe, breathe.  Pedal, breathe, pedal, breathe.  Whatever I had to do to get to the top... just keep pedaling!  And just when you think you've reached the top, the second half comes into view... WHAT?!  What am I going to do now?, other then PEDAL!  I finally made it to the top & Coachie was there waiting with a big smile!  What goes up, must come down.  1mile decent... Whhhhhheeeeeee!!!  I'm never out to break the sound barrier, so I was feathering on my brakes the whole time.  My max speed on that decent was 36.5.
Round two, 15miles out to Leakey and back. Within the first mile, BOOM!, Texas "mountain"!  The kind that you can see in front of you and then again off in the distance to the right, still climbing!  Then came the switch backs.  Kris had warned me, that this road was heavily traveled by motorcyclists & race cars.  As I climbed, I knew exactly why.  The road looked exactly like one that you would see in a Ferrari commercial that starts off with: expert drivers only, done on a closed road.  As I struggled both physically and mentally, I watched convertibles go flying by me and thought, "what a nice day to be out for a ride... in a convertible!"  By the time I reached Leakey, I was convinced I was DONE!
I had thought of very excuse in my head not to continue on.  I just wanted to get in the SAG vehicle and take my lashings from Coachie.  I walked over to Dawn, knowing I was about to step on hot coals!  "Coachie, I can't do this anymore.  I'm too tired & it hurts!"  "You're doing great!  This is your first time, it's suppose to be hard."  "I know, you're right... Yell at me some more!"  "You already had your hall pass on New Years Day... You're finishing this ride!"  ...OK...
I made it back from Leakey with every last once of energy left in my body determined that I was NOT going on the third leg.  Next thing I knew we were clipping in and heading out again.  OK, I will ride as long as I can while it's flat.  Then came the Texas "mountain", 1.5miles worth.  Pedal, pedal, breathe, breathe... just keep moving.  If I make it to the top, then I can get in the SAG.  As I slowly passed Alphonso I confessed to him I was getting int he SAG next time it came by.  He asked me nicely if I wanted him to wait with me until they came.  I told him I would wait for them to come & he urged me to keep pedaling until they came.  Again, next thing you know I'm at the top!  Ok, I will enjoy the decent and get in the SAG for the rest of the 5miles back.   Whhhheeeee!!!  At the bottom of the decent Kris & I grabbed onto Dawn & Jeff's wheel and drafted our way home.  DONE... well riding at least.
Afterwards, we "quickly" transitioned into our running clothes and headed out for a 30min run.  "Whoa, we are going way too fast, 8:23 pace!"  But no one slowed down, including myself!  We finished the day off with a 3.47mile run in 30min... 8:39 pace!  Where did THAT come from?!  I think Coachie riding along side of us on her bike helped :-)

Today, I think it all caught up to me.  Our recovery run of 8miles was done at a 9:40 pace & I felt like it was work to keep that up.  After our run Kris & I headed to the pool for a nice 2000yd PBB workout.  Wow, just what I expected... every single muscle was sore!  But nothing a relaxing swim can't work out.
So, in terms of "recovery" week, I feel I got ripped off.  But in terms of building strength & character, I got a full dose!  THIS is IM training... and I'm in the heart of it!